Time's Arrow, Part II

After arguably STNG's finest episode "The Inner Light", this two-parter continues the excellence, marred only by the performance of Hardin, an otherwise fine actor. His exaggerated Samuel Clemens, with its irritating, grinding old miner inflections and affectations, had me muting his portions after awhile. Too bad, because this episode is so cleverly written and so well performed, it is a flaw that should have been fixed. Otherwise I would have given this 9 stars.

He was from the South. Why is he talking like cartoon coal miner?

The story that began with Jean-Luc Picard finding Data's detached head in a cavern near San Francisco reaches its conclusion in the concluding episode. Some aliens from the planet Davidia have been using earth as a feeding ground and the eating seems to be good around San Francisco bay.

It's quite an adventure and part of the reason is that one of the most intellectually curious people in the history Samuel Langhorne Clemens or better known as Mark Twain overhears Data and Guinan conversing and knows this is important though he reaches the wrong conclusion.

Of course the Enterprise crew defeats the aliens and time resumes its normal course. Jerry Hardin does a wonderful job as Mark Twain. You really think it is Twain.

Sad to say though that most pessimistic of men never changed his attitude despite the glimpse into the distant future that he got in this episode. It was more than a glimpse, it was a grand tour courtesy of Counselor Troi.

Still seeing Jerry Hardin as Twain makes this TNG story worth a watch.

The first half of 'Time's Arrow' offered up a rather mediocre cliffhanger, but 'Part II' livens things up with an entertaining conclusion. It takes a bit to really get going (still dealing with Data's hiding out in San Fransisco), but once the time portal opens back up, it pretty well balances the 19th and 24th centuries. Jerry Hardin's Samuel Clemens was a highlight, marveling at the Enterprise and offering comment on poverty and technology. Things really clicked for me here, and the problem of retrieving the captain from centuries earlier and reviving Data offered the episode some urgency.

Turned into a decent payoff.

7/10

This was a fun time travel episode, complete with period outfits and everything. The ending got a little strained, I would have preferred they just didn't have a ticking clock over a cringey, totally fake ticking clock. It's like, "Oh my God we gotta stop these time traveling aliens who have had, who knows how many millennia to time travel, in like the next five seconds or... well, let's just do it right away for no reason!"

Given that the whole plot overall also frequently lacks much meat-on-the-bone, I think it averages out with the fun and adventure to an 8/10.